Famous Funny T-Shirts That Made a Splash

Fashion has a way of defining an era, many are able to pinpoint the decade of an old music video simply by the clothes that the band is wearing. When a trend becomes incredibly popular and catches the attention of everybody, this is when fashion goes mainstream and becomes an attachment of the era; a defining, iconic quality that represents the general mood and feeling of the time.

One of the most popular forms of this mainstream fashion quirk is the t-shirt. Most everybody wears t-shirts and for this reason it can be considered extremely accessible to all people. Novelty shirts first become extremely popular in the 1980's and arguably have never returned to that level of popularity. However, there have been iconic t-shirt designs that have endured through the decades and modern designs that have captured the attention of many.

A classic example of a memorable, funny t-shirt is the 'Frankie Says Relax' t-shirt from the 1980s. The shirt's origins are lyrics from a famous Frankie Goes To Hollywood single, but the shirt was made even more famous by George Michael and his band Wham! The t-shirt was worn by many teenagers and young adults throughout the 80s and is considered to be the landmark of novelty, funny t-shirts.

Another slogan t-shirt was “where's the beef?” which originates from a 1984 Wendy's commercial. This catchphrase took on a life of its own and became an oft-used phrase by many during the 80s. The slogan took on a somewhat ironic, knowing meaning as it was used in a variety of ways. The exact meaning is ambiguous, but it became something of an in-joke to many and the mustard-yellow t-shirt that it was printed on became an iconic item of apparel during this time.

Towards the latter half of the 1980s, The Simpsons came onto the scene and captured the hearts and minds of kids and adults alike. During the early seasons, Bart could be heart to say “don't have a cow, man” and this quickly become a national catchphrase. Of course, it didn't take long for this phrase to make it onto a t-shirt and it was extremely common to see children wearing this shirt.

The novelty shirt has never gone away, but since the 1980s it could be argued that it has not received the same level of national exposure. However, this does not mean that iconic t-shirts in general are not still popular. For President Obama's election campaign in 2008 he used the incredibly famous 'change' design on t-shirts (among other things) and these shirts received worldwide exposure on a level that had not been seen for many years.

The appeal of the novelty shirt will always be around and while its general popularity will hit peaks and lows, there is undying appeal to a funny t-shirt.